The Oregon Statistical Analysis Center of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission contracted with the Oregon Survey Research Laboratory to include in it's statewide survey questions of crime victimization in both 2002-2003 and early 2004. The random telephone surveys, known as the Oregon Annual Social Indicators Survey (OASIS), were sponsored by several parties covering a wide range of topics. Respondents were 18 years of age or older.

There were three main questions pertaining to being a crime victim: 1) was the respondent a victim of a crime of violence (if so how many times?), 2) was the respondent a victim of a property crime (if so how many times?), and 3) did the respondent contact the police.1

In a 2002-2003 survey and out of 801 respondents, 7.37% (59) indicated that they had been a victim of a crime of violence during the past 12 months. In 2004 and out of 805 respondents, 5.84% (47) indicated they had been a victim of a violent crime.

In the 2002-2003 survey 23.3%, (187) reported having been a victim of a property crime during the past 12 months. In the 2004 survey the percent indicating they were a victim of a property crime was 22.11% of the respondents. In 2002-2003, 37, were victims of both violent and property crimes and in 2004, 24 respondents were victims of both types of crime. In the 2002-2003 survey, 26.0%, of all respondents were victims of one crime or another. In 2004, 25.0% reported being a victim of one or another type of crime.

Among those who reported being the victim of a person crime, in 2002-2003 55.9% also reported having contacted police about the crime, while in 2004 53.2% reported being a victim of a violent crime . Among those who reported being the victim of a property crime, in 2002-2003 58.8% also reported having contacted police about the crime, while in 2004 52.2% reported to police that they had been a victim of a property crime.

The U.S. Bureau of Census conducts the National Crime Victimization Surveys as an ongoing survey for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In the bulletin Crime and the Nation's Households, 2000 with trends, 1994-2000 09/02 the reported national personal (violent) crime rate was 4.2% and the property crime rate was 13.6%. Vandalism is not included in above property rates and some violent crimes are not included in the violent crimes category. The National Survey does not beak out victimization rates by state but they do report higher rates for the states in the West: violent crimes with a 5.2% rate and property crimes with a 17.3% rate.

TheIdaho Statistical Analysis Center of the Idaho State Police, Salvador P. Váquez, Director, and Mary K. Stohr, Ph.D, Department of Criminal Justice Administration, Boise State University, conducted a crime victimization survey in the spring of 2000 and agin in 2001. They found that seven and three tenths of a percent, 7.3%, of the households in Idaho were victims of a violent crime and 21.5% of the households experienced a property crime. These are very close to Oregon's latest rates.

From 1978 to 1990 the State of Oregon through the Oregon Statistical Analysis Center conducted criminal victimization surveys by mail. Random samples of Oregonians were selected from licensed drivers. Typically the sample size of the respondents was 900 to just over 1,000. A 1988 report examined victimization trends from 1977 to 19852. Property victimization rates ranged from 18.5% to 28.4%. Victims of person crimes ranged from 2.8% to 4.4%.

Feelings About Oregon Police Officers
The surveys conducted by the Oregon Survey Research Laboratory include a question of feelings about Oregon police officers. The respondents were asked thinking about Oregon police officers, were their feelings generally positive, generally negative, or are they neutral? In the 2002-2003 survey only 8.6% reported negative feelings about Oregon police officers while in the 2004 survey that amount was 10.4% felt negative about police. In the 2002-2003 survey 69.4% had a positive feeling and in the 2004 survey 62.1% responded as haveing a positive feeling about Oregon police officers. Generally, respondents who were younger more often reported negative feeling than did older respondents.

1 The actual wording of the questions was more extensive.MS WordPDF2 Profiling Crime Victims: Victimization Trends and Victim Characteristics in Oregon from 1977 to 1985. Phase One. by Diane Craven, PH.D. Crime Analysis Center, Department of Justice. State of Oregon. April 1988.